Humboldt County feels effects of statewide drought: Agriculture Commission looks for federal assistance as the dry season puts pressure on ranchers

With less than normal rainfall since January, Humboldt County weather and agriculture officials are crossing their fingers for rain today and into early next week.

An updated U.S. drought monitor map for California -- released each Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center -- shows Humboldt County moving from a moderate to severe drought designation.

Rainfall in Humboldt has ranged from 25 percent to 50 percent below normal since January, with the Eureka office of the National Weather Service recording just 11.14 inches of rainfall between January and June, hydrologist Reginald Kennedy said.

"For that time period, it's the third driest period on record for our office," Kennedy said.

The abnormally dry season has resulted in not only extremely low river and stream flows, but also tough decisions for the county's cattle ranchers.

A drought survey, sent out two weeks ago by the Humboldt County Agriculture Commissioner's Office to about 60 livestock producers in the area, found that the lack of rain has led to an estimated 47 percent reduction in rangeland and grass growth.

About half of those who received surveys responded -- representing an area of about 200,000 acres, said Jeff Dolf, the county's agriculture commissioner. Most of the problems have emerged in the Garberville, Alderpoint, Blocksburg, Kneeland and Bridgeville areas, although Dolf said he has also received reports from east of Redwood Valley.

Without adequate food supplies, cattlemen face the decision of either selling off beef stock earlier than normal or shelling out for extra feed. Both options represent a revenue loss for ranchers, Dolf said.

Next week, after he is able to go out and document the conditions himself, Dolf said he plans to make a formal request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a secretarial drought designation. If granted, the designation would open the door to Humboldt County producers for an array of the federal agencies' crop loss assistance programs.

The last time the Agricultural Commissioner's Office applied for federal assistance was back in 2008.

"The conditions right now are severe," Dolf said. "Of course, there are cycles to the weather, but generally it isn't this extreme."

Although rain showers are expected to bring as much as 2 inches of precipitation today through Tuesday, Kennedy said long-term relief for the rest of the summer isn't likely.

"This system moving through is uncommon, but it is a good thing. It will obviously increase our monthly numbers for June," he said. "But the rest of summer ... for July and August we are looking to continue with this dry pattern."

On the web: The latest U.S. drought monitor map is released each Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center. For the latest updates, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu and click on California.